Bagley Has Been Super, But Celtics Still Need Clincher

April 27, 1992|By MICHAEL ARACE; Courant Staff Writer

BOSTON — For a couple of weeks now, the Celtics players have regaled point guard John Bagley every time he steps onto the team bus. There is a flourish of mouth trumpets: "Dut-dut-dut-DUHHH." Then, someone, usually Kevin McHale, yells, "It's SuperBags!"

SuperBags was born when Bagley made a spinning, over-the-shoulder layup late in the regular season, helping spark the Celtics to one in a string of eight victories in a row. SuperBags lives on in the playoffs, despite the fact he's no faster than a speeding armadillo.

Bagley, 6 foot and 192 pounds, had 35 points and 15 assists -- and four rebounds, two steals and only three turnovers -- in the Celtics' 119-112 overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers at the Garden Saturday afternoon. The victory gave the Celtics a 2-0 lead in their first-round, best-of-five series, which moves to Indiana for Game 3 tonight (8 p.m., TNT, Ch. 30). Game 4, if neccessary, is also at Market Square Arena, on Thursday night.

In two playoff games, Bagley has 47 points, 24 assists and eight rebounds. The Pacers are expected to continue to play Bagley as before, sending their point guard to double-team him in the low post.

That, Bagley said, "wasn't a matter of surprise, I just have to take advantage of it. That's the thing. We've got to somehow make it happen if they double-team our big guys.

"Me, I'm not ready to smile yet. I think we've got another game to win, and we've got to stay focused. We've got to go out there and [win] one."

The Pacers had a three-hour practice in Indianpolis Sunday. The Celtics watched video tape of Game 2 at their Brandeis University practice facility. When they were finished, coach Chris Ford said forward Larry Bird ( out the past 10 games because of back pain) and guard Dee Brown (seven games missed because of acute viral syndrome) will not travel to Indiana.

Regarding the Pacers: "There have been a lot of mental breakdowns where we leave them open on the perimeter," Ford said. "It involves a lot of different players -- it's not just one guy making a mistake. To the fans and media on the sidelines, they're

probably wondering, `How the hell can they leave those guys open like that?' It's just breakdowns, and I can't illustrate it enough on the blackboard.

"Fortunately, at the end of the first two games, we've avoided the breakdowns. People came together."

Pacers forward Chuck Person (seven points in Game 1) bounced back with 32 points in Game 2. But he was scoreless in the fourth quarter, and had only four free throws in overtime. He personifies the Pacers, who have shot at a blistering pace for a half to three quarters in each of the first two games, then faded. In Game 2, for instance, the Pacers were shooting more than 57 percent at the half, but wound up 44.6 percent for the game.

Now, the Celtics are looking for a more consistent defensive effort.

"We saw a lot of mistakes [in the films]," said Celtics center Robert Parish, who is averaging 21 points (with help from SuperBags) and 14 rebounds in the series. "We saw a lot of individual mental lapses. We definitely dodged a bullet."

Said McHale, "We haven't played, necessarily, that well. Half-court, we're executing OK, we're not shooting the ball great, we're doing a lot of things OK. But we're not doing a lot of the things we were doing in the past, especially on offense."

Person said the Celtics are on the verge of faltering.

"I feel like we're going to win this thing," Person said. "We gave 'em a couple. They held serve [at home]. That's how we look at it."

The questions facing the Celtics are: Can they find their offensive synch? And, if not, can they muster a late-game stand in hostile environs? "I've been here long enough to see us not take advantage of these opportunities over the years," Ford said. "Hopefully, this time, we will. We know the Pacers have all they need to stretch us out to a five-game series."

Of course, there's always a chance SuperBags will appear out of nowhere once again.

"I don't remember too much [from Saturday's game]," Bagley said. "I just want to [keep] this feeling, and, hopefully, take it to Indiana.